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Texas Error Creates Large Backlog of Unsent DPS Voter Records

State officials say the transmission problem is fixed and they are sending older DMV-linked records to counties so voters with transactions by Oct. 5 can be verified and cast provisional ballots.

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The northwest Austin Department of Public Safety office is pictured here in January, 2019. Some voter registration applications and updates submitted through DPS's online driver's license portal were never sent to county officials, Texas officials said this week.
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Overview

  • An error in the Texas Department of Public Safety’s online driver’s‑license portal produced incomplete records that were not transmitted to county voter registrars, forcing the state to identify and backfill missing data.
  • The state began sending batches of the backlogged records to counties Tuesday night, less than two weeks before the Oct. 5 voter registration deadline and ahead of Oct. 19 early voting.
  • Officials have not disclosed how many applications were affected; county election leaders say backlogs range from a few hundred in small counties to tens of thousands in large jurisdictions such as Dallas and Bexar.
  • The Secretary of State’s Office says a voter whose DPS transaction occurred on or before Oct. 5 will have that transaction count as the registration date and may cast a provisional ballot that will be counted after the transaction is verified.
  • County election offices face heavy administrative strain processing months‑old records, may hire temporary workers or pay overtime, and local and Democratic officials are pressing the governor and DPS for answers and resources.